Borewell vehicle owners strike work

Protesting against the increase in fuel prices, owners of borewell vehicles have struck work in the city since Tuesday, and are contemplating increasing the rate for drilling in the coming days.

Members of the Karnataka Borewell Vehicles Owners Association are staging a protest by parking over 250 trucks on a ground near Kommaghatta Road in Kengeri.

S R Anil Kumar, a director in the Association, said, “Owners of borewell drilling trucks are incurring huge losses due to repeated increase in the price of diesel. We have stopped drilling borewells in the city since Tuesday. Our protest will continue till Sunday. To minimise the loss, the Association is contemplating increasing the cost of drilling borewells. Currently, we are charging ₹60 per foot, it requires at least one-and-half litres of diesel to drill one foot, the cost of diesel per litre has touched ₹76. A decision will be taken on increasing the price in the coming days.”

He said the decision to stop work in the city has had an impact on constructions activity too. “In the city, on an average, 50 borewells are dug every day. Prior to starting any construction work in the city, borewells are dug. So our protest has hit construction work till Sunday.”